Strange sightings

Amid the slew of chalk advertisements
cluttering the pavement around
Grounds is a more mysterious piece of
art. A walk around central Grounds
will reveal a series of black spray-painted pictures of a man
smoking a pipe.

These scattered emblems have been gaining attention from
passers-by, though no one seems to know who painted the figures
or what the faces represent. Almost everyone believes they've
seen the picture before.

"I think it's Internet-related," said third-year College student Ben
Beach. "I think I've seen it on a search engine, like askjim."

Others think they've seen the picture on tequila advertisements,
or possibly in the Yellow Journal, a defunct humor journal. Still,
others see a link between the sidewalk art and photos of Ed
McMahon splattered on Publishers Clearing House envelopes.

Describing the picture as a "50s father-figure pipe guy,"
first-year College student Jason Howard offered his own
interpretation.

"I think it may be a symbol of the hard-core community around
here," Howard said. "They like to juxtapose images of extreme
wholesomeness with their own image."

No matter what the pictures mean, most students don't take them
too seriously.

"I think it was done by some drunk person who went around and
thought it was funny," said first-year College student Kelly
Clifton.

Others, such as fourth-year Commerce student David Kim, have
treated the images as a joke.

"No doubt it's some sort of sexual perversion," Kim said.

This paper was published on 2/25/00 by The Cavalier Daily, Inc.,
at the University of Virginia.